How to create real estate branding that attracts your ideal clients
With an estimated two million licensed real estate agents in the US, it’s never been more important to stand out in a memorable way. When you meet someone in person, that’s easy — you’ll win them over with your personality and keep in touch consistently. But how about the “unmets” – the potential clients you haven’t met yet? How will they find you and be drawn to you?
This is where branding comes in. We’ll dive into what a real estate brand is, what makes a great brand and why it’s important for your real estate business, plus tips for creating and showcasing your own custom real estate brand.
What is real estate branding?
Real estate branding is a message to the world, letting potential clients know who you are, who you serve and how you operate in your business. Believe it or not, this can all be conveyed using branding. Your real estate brand consists of not only fonts, colors and logos, it also encompasses everything you put out to the world publicly.
Think about your favorite brands: Nike, Nordstrom, the Ritz Carlton. Consumers don’t need to have coffee with these companies’ CEOs to understand what the company does and who it serves. This is due to their strong branding. (Picturing the Nike swoop in your head, right?)
A great branding strategy (and execution) creates an instant connection between a company and its target client. It makes the audience feel something powerful that draws them in.
Why is branding important for your business?
Attract target audience
Differentiate your business from competitors
Create recognition and loyalty to your company
Build trustworthiness
Sell your expertise and services
A strong real estate brand allows you to connect with your target audience before you even meet them. It serves as leverage. It sells your potential clients on you, so you don’t have to do as much selling yourself.
Think about it: Pretend you’re a first-time buyer taking the leap from renting to home ownership. You search online for a local real estate agent and click on two websites. The first is pretty generic, with stock images, not much detail and looks very basic, but it has several solid testimonials from happy clients. The next website draws you in. The colors, fonts and images used on the page are inviting and fun. They give you a sense of ease, even though you’re likely not consciously aware of it. There are also several testimonials for this agent.
Who would you be more likely to reach out to? Most likely, you’d choose to call the second agent because the website is enticing, makes you feel comfortable, shows expertise in real estate and you’ve even seen the same branding on a for sale sign down the street. That’s the power of a strong real estate brand.
Elements of a great brand
What elements create a great brand? When determining the elements of your brand, consider how you will be perceived, the visibility for clients, telling your brand story, connecting with your ideal client and reflecting the core values of your business. Here are the key elements to focus on as you create your own brand:
Fonts: If your brand is more modern, use a sans serif font like Arial for a clean, crisp look. If it’s more traditional, consider a classic like Times New Roman.
Colors: Bright, bold colors are great for fun, energetic brands while neutrals and more subdued colors are typically used in luxury brands.
Images: Lots of possibilities here! While some agents do use stock images, I’d recommend using your own images. These can be headshots, lifestyle photos you take specifically for branding purposes, listing photos of homes you’ve sold or simply photos you take and use on social media of your everyday life. Use images to tell your brand’s story; this is a great way to build a sense of connection with your potential clients.
Logo: Incorporate your brand colors, fonts and a graphic that ties to your unique location or specific niche. Many agents use the outline of a house in their logos, for instance.
Language: Use words and intonation that you normally use in conversation on your website and social media to showcase your personality and reflect the location you specialize in. Local jargon and abbreviations will let your clients know you are an expert in the area. For example, in New York, calling the Long Island Expressway the LIE or in New Jersey saying “driving down the shore” instead of “driving to the beach.”
Those are the key elements, and here are the places they will show up, where you can display your brand to the world:
Your website
Your social media platforms
Your business cards, either old-school printed cards or a virtual card
Your marketing materials, such as your buyer consult guide and listing presentation
Postcards
Swag: pens, mugs, notepads
Laptop cover
Yard signs
Car decals (only if you’re a polite driver!)
Newsletters and email communication
Tips to create and showcase your real estate brand
Now that you know why a strong brand is important and the elements you need to create your brand, consider these six tips for creating and showcasing your real estate brand to the world.
Tip 1 – Identify your target audience
Before you get to work on creating your real estate agent branding strategy, think carefully about who your target audience is. This will influence every aspect of your brand, so it’s important to choose this first.
Who’s your ideal client? Is it downsizing seniors, luxury condo buyers, investors, move-up buyers, divorcing couples or first-time buyers? Decide who you’d like to work with, and don’t be afraid to be specific. Then, build your brand elements based on what fonts, colors, logos and other branding materials will appeal to that audience.
Tip 2 – Do your research
Spend time researching other brands, both within and outside the real estate industry. As you’re researching, pay attention to your gut instinct and how you feel about each company based on their branding. For example, if you want your brand to convey honesty, when you come across a brand you deem as honest, figure out what they do in their elements to give you that feeling and apply it to your branding.
Try to find companies you haven’t heard of before so your reactions aren’t clouded by any past experience or prior knowledge, and you can focus solely on the branding they’re using.
Tip 3 – Create your branding kit
Your branding kit is the compilation of the elements we listed in the previous section (fonts, colors, etc). It’s helpful to keep this all in one place, such as a Google Doc or on Canva, for easy reference when you’re designing your next business card, postcard or flyer.
Pro Tip
Keep the HTML color codes handy; this will ensure your colors are consistent every time.
Tip 4 – Be consistent across all platforms
Consistently using the same branding kit not only makes your life easier (no reinventing the wheel) but also builds trust with clients. They know what to expect. It’s like going to Starbucks and knowing the coffee will taste the same in every location.